Rep. Jeff Landry proposes way to finance temporary reduction in Social Security taxes

Rep. Jeff Landry,
R-New Iberia, has offered up his own solution to the impasse on how to
fund an extension of the temporary reduction in Social Security taxes.
Landry would allow taxpayers to decide if they want to continue to pay a
lower Social Security tax, but would require those that opt in for the
tax decrease to extend their own retirement age by one month.

View full sizeHarry Hamburg, The Associated PressRep. Jeff Landry, R-La., talks with an aide outside of the Senate Chamber on Capitol Hill in July.

Each
year, Landry would allow taxpayers to pay the lower rate -- currently
4.2 percent vs. the regular 6.2 percent -- and accept whatever extension
of their retirement age is needed to finance the lower levy.

"The
payroll tax holiday is a difficult issue for Congress because it forces
us to choose between allowing Americans to continue to keep more of
their hard-earned money or providing for the continued life of Social
Security," Landry said. "As the American people know how to manage their
own money, far better than Congress does, the Social Security
Preservation through Individual Choice Enhancement Act allows each
American to make this decision."